


Chance

by paopusky



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-27 04:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7603363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paopusky/pseuds/paopusky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You could exist. What do you say to that?" <br/>-TEMPORARY HIATUS-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

A single figure stood in an empty hallway, his mind focused on a million things at once, his facial expression troubled. He felt like his heart could split in two- if he had one, that was. The cruel fate of being a nobody, an embodiment of darkness that's born from an empty shell of a body, which is exactly what they were. Empty shells. Nobodies weren't meant to feel emotion. So why did he ache so much?

He shook it away. Feelings weren't worth having anyway. Feelings distracted people from their goals. What was his goal? Simply, he didn't have one. Sure, the main goal of Organization XIII was to regain Kingdom Hearts for themselves, to allow them to fully regain hearts, make them whole, to have _feelings,_ but he wasn't a dedicated zombie like everybody else. Following that goal got many other members of the Organization killed. Castle Oblivion was a deathtrap in itself; their main plans for that place failed anyway.

Vexen was killed at the hands of the redhead; nobody liked a traitor. Plus, he wasn't even useful, just took up space. Lexaeus was ridden by Riku; both him, Vexen and Zexion tried to manipulate the silver haired teen, which ultimately destroyed all of them. Even the redhead didn't dare to touch that guy. He was a short fuse; the darkness had gotten him at one point, he could sense it, hovering around, just waiting for a precise moment to strike. It wasn't suspicious a _t all_ that he'd disappeared when Roxas had.

Larxene was next- the pissed-off brunette took care of her. That was fun to watch. He had liked Sora.

Marluxia met his demise in Castle Oblivion too. Again, the great 'Keyblade Master' was the cause.

The last member to go was Xion. Axel could barely remember her anymore. Soon,she'd be wiped from existence. What a pity. She really did mean a lot to Roxas. And him.

Yet, through everything, his mind still focused on the blonde that, if he had a heart, would've taken it wholly. Roxas. _His_ Roxas. He couldn't get his hopes up about those feelings being reciprocated- nobodies are nobodies. Nothing less, nothing more. What was the point of having a goal when you're not meant to exist? The last time he'd seen him, the boy had ran away, tried to set Kingdom Hearts free, consumed with despair over their best friend, one which had quite literally disappeared in his arms.

_Axel gritted his teeth, glaring at the blonde. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!" He needed to make Roxas stay. He knew, if he left, this would probably be the last time he saw the boy he had come to care for, deeply. Roxas stilled, his back still to Axel. Turning his head to the side, he closed his eyes._

_"No one would miss me."_

_That sentence alone broke Axel's non-existent heart._

_"That's not true!" He shouted, watching Roxas walk away, ignoring his plea. When he'd gotten out of earshot, Axel whispered dejectedly, his head cast downwards, a half-hearted confession to himself. "... I would."_

From the information he'd gathered, Roxas had been put in a virtual twilight town, and there was a high chance his memories had been erased. His suspicions were on DiZ; an elaborate plan to get Roxas back to Sora. Which means he'd never see him again.

As if he was going to let that happen.

Axel outstretched his arm and summoned a portal into view, staring into the purple and black abyss, biting his chapped lip. Roxas might have no clue who he was. He could be a completely different person. The man he loved could have no recollection of their bond.

Before he could rethink his choice, he stepped through, transporting himself to the virtual town where his love waited, a heavy weight in his chest.

After all, it was his orders.

When he came though the portal, he staggered slightly, marveling at the realistic view of the world which was completely virtual, right down to the buildings and the sun blaring down on them. He'd appeared in an alley somewhere in virtual Twilight Town; by the sounds of a commotion going on, Roxas was nearby. He followed the noise, emerging in a small plaza, the familiar blonde stood in the middle, fighting off some dusks that had seemingly appeared. Everyone around the plaza was frozen in place, various expressions plastered on their faces from what must have been a struggle tournament in the plaza. Obviously DiZ's creation wasn't completely perfect, if anomalies like this were happening.

Roxas' organization coat was ridden, replaced by some light brown trousers, becoming dark brown near the top; a black halter-like top covered by a cream checkered hoodie. A checkered band fit his right wrist, with two rings sporting his fingers- one black, one white. Large black and red shoes covered his feet, while a charm, quite similar to Sora's, sat around his neck, though instead of a crown it was a curved cross, almost like a bizarre weapon. Axel pulled up his over-sized hood, clouding his appearance, watching as the boy panted from the aftermath of his fight. The blonde stood up straight, scanning the area next to him, only to let out a sigh of relief when he saw they were gone.

He began clapping, alerting Roxas' gaze, his breath catching in his throat when dazzling blue eyes locked with his in confusion, which soon turned to a glare. The blonde didn't move or say anything, however. Very unlike him, he seemed to be analyzing the situation instead of rushing headfirst into aggression.

"Roxas. All right. Fight, fight, _fight_." Axel grinned, ceasing the clapping as he began to walk closer. Roxas' face showed no recognition as the still-glaring blue orbs connected with green. So much for Axel's happy ever after plan.

"You really don't remember?" His boots clashed with the ground as he walked, the only sound in the deep silence. "It's me. You know, _Axel_." The redhead pulled back his hood, bright red spikes springing free.

"Axel?" Yet again, the redhead was met with confusion. Roxas' keyblade still lingered in the air, slightly moving as the blonde stood, panting from the aftermath of his fight.

"Talk about blank with a capital 'B.' Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one." Axel summoned his chakrams, bursts of fire coating the edges as they came into being. Roxas stilled, eyes narrowing as he gripped his keyblade tighter, ready for any confrontation that might come his way.

"Wait a sec. Tell me what's going on!" The blonde demanded- as stubborn as ever. Axel chuckled. He'd missed this.

"This town is his creation, right?" He stepped forward, glancing around at his surroundings, motioning around him with his hand, the chakram leaving behind embers as it moved. "Which means we don't have time for a Q & A. You're coming with me, conscious or not." He _really_ hoped he didn't have to resort to _not._ "Then you'll hear the story."

Almost the moment the word left his lips, a strange wisp of air appeared behind Roxas. It didn't take long for Axel to realize this was the program's way of saying he wasn't meant to be there, and that meant at any minute DiZ would show up. The panic began to rise in his throat as he realized how little a chance there was that this may work.

"Uh-oh."

Surprising Axel, Roxas groaned, gritting his teeth together. He threw his Keyblade to the ground, the metal clanging against concrete as it fell.

"What's going ON?!" The desperation in his eyes overtook any anger that may have resided there. The Keyblade reappeared in his hand, causing the blonde to frustrate further, his hair fluttering backwards slightly from the sudden transportation of the weapon.

"Number thirteen. Roxas. The Keyblade's chosen one." _My love._

He crouched ever so slightly, twirling his chakrams around, a signal he was ready to fight. He had to. There was no time. He either took him by force, _now,_ or risk losing Roxas forever.

The boy opposite did the same, adopting his instinctual fighting style, sighing exasperatedly. "Okay, _fine!_ You asked for it!" His eyebrows knotted together as he readied himself to fight; something the redhead realized must have been new to him, and something he'd probably been doing a lot as of late.

Axel grinned, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly. "That's more like it!"

Sure, he didn't want to hurt the boy opposite him, but he sure did love a good fight. Especially when it involved fire.

As Axel began to run towards the boy, ready to illicit a weak attack, Roxas ran backwards, causing the redhead to momentarily still out of surprise. _Running away already?_ His thoughts soon evaporated when the blonde turned to him, jumping into the air with his Keyblade pointed upwards, a yellow streak of light following it as it cut through the air. He jumped backwards, his feet steady; the weapon directed at him missed by a mere inch, almost touching the ends of his spikes. He retaliated by launching both of his weapons, sending them skimming through the air.

Although one of them managed to clash with Roxas' ankle, cutting through fabric and drawing small beads of blood, the effort put into launching the attack left him momentarily vulnerable. Roxas struck, across his stomach to be exact, forcing the hilt of the key into his abdomen, hard. The blonde wasted no time in swinging back his weapon, preparing for another attack, but Axel was faster and stepped backwards before he could bring it down fully, Roxas unable to stop the attack from the force he put into it. He stumbled, his weapon clashing against the concrete.

Axel twirled his chakram, ignoring the stabbing pain in his stomach, his gaze hard. "Come on, Roxas. Just give up."

Roxas snapped his head upwards, a snarl erupting from his throat. " _Never."_

Chakram clashed with Keyblade, a newfound fury coming from Roxas, endless blocks and attacks coming from the two, neither of them managing to slow the other down quite enough to land an attack. Sensing that this would probably continue until one of them passed out, he didn't want to take the slight risk that it might be him and flung himself backwards, sending a chakram flying to block any attack that may head his way. As soon as he found his footing, Axel held his chakrams out in front of him, letting them dangle amidst flames and tendrils of darkness, his feet lifting off the ground, floating inches from the floor.

"Burn!" Axel yelled, his flame-filled attack launching itself towards Roxas. It wrapped itself around his Keyblade, burning his arms as the tendrils spread. He could see the small boy begin to panic, a yell making it's way to his throat as the fire spread around his middle. However, before it could, the flames disappeared, no evidence it ever burnt him left behind. His fire attacks could only last so long.

Roxas launched his Keyblade at Axel, an attempt at replicating his chakram throws; although it didn't cause much harm, it did stun the redhead enough for Roxas to abuse the situation. He relentlessly pummeled Axel; finding any spot he could hit and cause damage. The pain was excruciating; while Keyblade attacks were never pleasant, the added rage mixed in with the consistent attacking was wearing him down, and fast. The more he got hit, the further his rage and frustration grew.

" _Don't_ make me mad _..."_ The sky appeared to darken as he spoke those words; flames began to stem from every pore in his body, orange and yellow bursts of light appeared in a circle, barricading around him, spiked tendrils of darkness circling around his body. As the bursts of light faded and the darkness cleared, Axel was left seemingly on fire. It didn't affect him, obviously; it _powered_ him. Flames licked from his hair, his neck, his lips, his chest, every part of his body became one with the fire, became it's heat source, it's fuel.

He swung his chakrams, the fire-infused weapons twisting as they spun, the blonde superbly dodging the attacks, albeit a couple tinges of fire that managed to attach to him.

"Hey, do I ring any bells yet?" From the hard look and clear silence, it was anything but. Roxas blocked the next incoming chakram; it changed it's course, heading straight for the redhead, sending him flying to the floor, his weapons skidding away from his grasp. Axel coughed after a moments pause; he propped himself up on the heels of his arms, wincing.

"Not bad, Roxas."

Before Axel could say anything else, a flash of light appeared, hundreds of white boxes twisting around a figure, only to disappear, revealing DiZ in all his bundled up glory. He was a tanned man; well, appeared to be. Only his left eye, a brilliant yellow- a signature of possession- and mouth was free, the rest of his head wrapped in a crimson fabric, a black belt entwined around it. He wore a long, black cloak with various brown, yellow and white block-ish, lined designs, a separate red cloak dangling from his shoulders and skimming the floor. A simple, green-grey scarf hugged his neck.

At the sight of DiZ, Axel flung himself upwards, propelling himself by the heels of his hand. Roxas, rather close to him, choked out a 'huh?' in confusion.

"So it was you." Axel snarled, jumping backwards to get a better angle. He span his chakrams, coating them with fire, then released, putting all his force into a devastating, furious attack. They merely bounced off an invisible protective shield around him; a chink of metal vibrated through the air as they hit the barrier, falling to the ground harmlessly. DiZ turned to the blonde, unfazed by the attempted attack.

"Roxas, this man speaks _nonsense!"_ His voice was commanding and deep; his eyes narrowed at Axel. The redhead turned to Roxas, his gaze pleading.

"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!" He motioned outwards with his hand for emphasis; Roxas glanced between the two, his eyes wide. He looked terrified. He was losing him.

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

" _Roxas!"_

_"Roxas Roxas Roxas Roxas..."_

The world began to stagger; his words, and DiZ's, began to repeat, swarming. He could barely see Roxas grasp at his head in pain before he was pulled forcefully from the program, everything disappearing around him, pulling him further away from the one thing he was working to get.

* * *

" _No_ way! It's too soon! You can't seriously get rid of him." Axel's eyes narrowed at Xaldin, the latter sitting in his chair unfazed, like they were having a casual conversation about the weather. It was anything _but._ He gripped the sides of his own chair slightly; he felt nauseous. He skimmed his options, any way that he could get out of it, but to no avail. He wasn't supposed to have feelings, so how could he feel love so strongly? How could he feel so _scared?_

"It's an order. Why do you hesitate?" Xaldin droned in his usual monotonous voice, his arms tightly crossed against his chest. Axel scoffed. "You, who has been _ruthless_ towards those who turned their backs on the Organization."

"But it's not like that!" Axel emphasized his words with his arms, exasperated. "He didn't betray us. He CAN'T come back!"

As much as Axel wanted to run off with Roxas into the sunset, without having to deal with Sora, the Organization, or anybody for that matter, the chance of that outcome seemed to hopelessly dwindle by the second.

"If he doesn't return, you know what you must do." One of his lance's floated in the air next to his head, awaiting a target. "Or you will face the consequences."

With barely a tilt of his head, the arrow flew in Axel's direction, wedging itself millimeters from his ear, slicing a small chunk of one of his spikes cleanly off. Axel didn't flinch, his gaze still staring daggers at Xigbar, a silent refusal. No way he'd eliminate Roxas. He... He couldn't.

The lance disappeared into a twinkling of light; in his other hand, he summoned a ball of crackling, electricity-filled light, one which can be used to create Dusks, if need be. The redhead's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. He sat back against the back of the white chair; his eyes downcast.

"So, you'll turn me into a Dusk..." Xaldin's expression didn't waver; even under the hood, he could clearly see the face of a man with no remorse. Axel scoffed. He had no other options. He was well and truly stuck.

What else could he do?

"All right. I'll do it! If that's what you want."

* * *

The first thing Axel saw when he stepped through the portal was Roxas; a heavy weight pressing down on his chest as the reminder of what he had to do was brought to the front of his mind. He rubbed the back of his head, unable to look the blonde in the eye.

"Look at what it's come to. I've been given these icky orders to destroy you if you refuse to come back with me."

Roxas stood up straight, narrowing his eyes, seemingly in thought. "We're... best friends, right?" He motioned his hands to the side, a tiny smile working it's way to his face, his eyes filled with desperation.

Axel scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, again. "Sure, but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk for... Wait a sec!" His eyes widened, mouth forming into a large, toothy grin. "You remember now?!"

This could be his chance. Roxas would surely come back with him now- he wouldn't have to eliminate him, be turned into a Dusk, or lose him forever to Sora...

"Y-Yeah..." He stuttered unconvincingly, though Axel didn't take notice. He was just overjoyed to have _his_ Roxas back.

"Great! But, you know, gotta make sure and all." Roxas looked around at the swaying Dusks surrounding him, ones at the redhead's beck and call. He was probably wondering why they hadn't attacked. "So, umm..." Crows chirped in the distance as the blonde looked at him expectantly. "What's our bosses name?"

A long few moments passed before Axel's face crumpled. Only silence came from Roxas, proving that he _really_ didn't remember at all. The redhead looked downwards, his green eyes void of hope. He sighed sadly.

"Can't believe this..."

Roxas looked down at the sudden appearance of a stick in his hand; with a flash of light, it became his Keyblade. Axel bit his lip. This was it. He was going to have to destroy Roxas. Or let Roxas destroy him. The face of the boy in front of him, scowling, ready to fight _him;_ that wasn't Roxas. Not anymore. He looked up, a last silent plea. If the blonde suddenly remembered him, he didn't show it. Axel summoned his chakrams, twisting them around in his hands, the tips of the weapons brushing against his arms. He lifted his arm to launch it, gritting his teeth and frowning, seeing the boy stiffen and prepare himself for the attack-

He was gone. Nothing else seemed out of place; although he did feel stiff and slightly disorientated. DiZ must have tampered with the program.

Damn it. Sighing, he let his weapons disappear. Roxas was probably at the mansion already, where Sora resided- in the real Twilight Town. Namine had told him that much. The basement of the mansion, in this simulation, was the gateway between the real and the fake.

"The Roxas I know is long gone." He chuckled. "Fine. I see how it is..."

He had one more stop; one more judgement call.

"Happy year anniversary, Rox." Axel smiled sadly, disappearing into a portal behind him.


	2. II

"Simply amazing Roxas." Axel walked around the room, his arms crossed tightly, his mouth pulled into a tight line.

"Axel." The blonde said just that, no hint of malice, no wary edge to his voice. No hint he was talking to a stranger.

"You really do remember me this time?" He turned to Roxas almost sadly, before his eyes narrowed and he frowned. "I'm SO FLATTERED." He bared his teeth, eyes widening in anger. Embers of flame rose from around him, his arms extending from his sides. He'd had enough. He'd lost all his options, he'd failed to bring back the blonde to the Organization. Judging by his face, he wasn't going to leave, not with Axel anyway. He'd return to Sora, and the redhead would lose him forever.

Flames burst from the floor, surrounding the two figures in a ring of intense fire. It flickered all the way to the ceiling, small flickers bouncing off the fire and disappearing. The blonde looked around wildly, now fully aware of how powerful Axel could be- especially when he was angry. Still, he was silent.

"But you're too late!" He extended his hand to the side, baring his teeth. The flames grew stronger; Roxas stepped backwards, flinching as small embers hit his skin. Closing his eyes, he flexed his hands, bringing out a Keyblade... and another appeared in his other hand. He brung his hands up, spinning the Keyblades, then brought them down in a snapping motion, his eyes narrowed at Axel. _That_ , Axel wasn't expecting.

" _Two?!"_ Sure, he wasn't that outmatched by a second Keyblade, as he had two weapons himself, but it took him by surprise. One of them was pure white, and reflected a brilliant white, while the other was pure black, and he could feel it attracted the darkness. Yin and Yang, he supposed. Kind of like them. Roxas _was_ good; always trying to do the good thing, find his purpose, and _matter._ Axel, on the other hand, was the opposite. Sure, he cared for the people close to him, but he didn't care for repercussions, how his actions would affect other people. He did what he had to do.

Axel looked down, outstretching his arms, dark tendrils forming from them; it was soon replaced by fire, then the contrast of cool metal. _He did what he had to do._ When they had fully formed, he looked upwards, a cocky grin set on his face, eyes creased slightly as they then formed into a glare, the smile still strong.

"Come here, I'll make it all stop." Axel crooned as he swung his chakrams around, the flames still burning strong around them. Roxas had seem to forgotten about it; his expression was hard, a burning anger in those eyes that the redhead knew wasn't completely directed at him.

"Burn, baby!" A wave of fire erupted from Axel and Roxas jumped back, dodging it barely, but didn't expect the attack to spread into fire appearing under his feet. Although the flames didn't attach to him for long, it still burnt his clothes and skin, causing a grunt to escape from his mouth. Axel took the opportunity of Roxas' moment of being stunned to further his attack; with a flick of his wrists the floor was covered in a flame illusion. Roxas jumped backwards, expecting the fire to burn, but quickly composing himself when he realized it wasn't. He lunged at Axel, both Keyblade's poised and ready to attack, but the redhead caught the ends in his chakrams and spun them, causing the weapons to fall from Roxas' grasp. In seconds they were back in their owner's hands, but the surprise of the blonde gave him a small opening to fling his chakrams at Roxas, scraping his left arm and right leg.

He didn't seem affected by the attack, and if he was, he didn't show it. The blonde jumped into the air, then as he was about to connect with the weapons again, he kicked the air and spun backwards, flipping his body over Axel's and landed behind him, striking him in the back with one Keyblade, then again with another. The redhead spun, leaning sideways to avoid the weapons for a split second then raised his, blocking the feeble attempts with his own weapons.

Axel jumped into the air, chakrams ready to strike; Roxas readied his weapons, the blades hanging to the side. When the redhead came back down, the two both crossed their weapons and struck, metal colliding on metal. Axel jumped backwards, weapons at his side, while Roxas rushed forwards, flinging back his Keyblade's as he swung his arms around to hit Axel. He ran up the wall, flames coating his feet; Axel threw a flame-encrusted chakram while he used the other to block, it missing and returning within seconds. He flung himself backwards, into the centre of the room; Roxas bounced off the wall, flames still on his feet, both of them suspended in mid-air. His Keyblade radiated with light, and Roxas bought it down, hard, sending Axel to the floor, his back connecting with solid. Bursts of light swam around him, blinding them both.

When it cleared, Axel was on his feet, groaning in pain, though still ready to fight. Roxas took the opportunity to land a few hits, and surprisingly, he didn't seem to fight back. Roxas didn't let that falter him, however. Despite the pained eyes, the groans, the pain he must be going through, he pummeled him. He couldn't hold back.

Unexpectedly, Axel disappeared. After a few confused seconds of searching, he found he'd absorbed into the wall of fire, though he was moving too fast to track, camouflaging himself almost too well. He then burst from the wall, falling to the ground and sending a shock wave of fire in all directions. It barely fazed Roxas, however. He rushed to where Axel was, his Keyblade's poised to strike.

Axel's gaze connected with Roxas' as he held his chakrams at his side, eyes narrowed. "You won't forget this."

His body coated with fire, and he sent his flame _and_ darkness coated weapons outwards, almost too quickly for the blonde to deflect. The fire coated him, came from all directions, burning painfully into his flesh. Axel jumped up into the air, still relentlessly throwing his weapons, and summoned more fire. It burst from the floor, causing Roxas to be flown into the air, his leg throbbing painfully.

" _Got it memorized?"_

He angrily started absorbing into the flames again, barely materializing for two seconds before returning. Roxas resorted to frenziedly attacking at any angle, hoping it would connect with his target.

A painful grunt signaled it did; the floor returned to it's normal green, glowing state and the wall of flames began to die down. Axel stood opposite him, breathing heavily, chakrams dangling harmlessly at his sides. He was well and truly spent. He'd done everything he could.

Roxas kept his eyes on the hunched-over figure that refused to meet his gaze, taking pity in his friend. His best friend. He could empathize with him, he truly could. All he wanted was his friend back. "Axel..."

"Let's meet again in the next life." Axel looked up at Roxas, his eyes almost pleading. He was still panting heavily, slightly shaking from the aftermath of the attack.

"Yeah. I'll be waiting." Roxas assured, stance calm. Axel envied him.

A black portal appeared around the redhead; he looked down, sighing. "Silly." He looked back up, a taunting expression on his face. "Just because you have a next life."

* * *

"Guess that's that." Axel lent over the wooden fence, his hands planted firmly on the top. His coat swayed in the slight breeze as he watched Roxas- _Sora,_ disappear from the train tracks.

"Let's go."

"Go where? It's not like we have homes to return to." Axel turned to face the mystery man, a smirk on his lips. "We don't exist, remember?" He looked down at his feet dejectedly, his voice growing rather spiteful on those last few words.

"Yes, it's true. We may not have homes..." Namine spoke softly, her gaze fixed on her sketchbook, at the two figures holding hands. "But there IS some place I want to go. And... someone I want to see."

"Same here." Axel brought down the mood as always, before turning to the hooded figure. "So, you think you might let us go? I know you're here to get rid of us, but..."

"DiZ? Wants to get rid of me?" Namine piped up, her voice full of uncertainty and surprise. Unlike Axel, she obviously hadn't expected that after she fulfilled her purpose, she'd be eradicated.

"Go." The figure gestured to the side of him, a motion to leave. Probably before it was too late.

"You sure about this?" Both of them turned to Axel, who seemed completely confused. He _was_ completely confused. Sure, the figure in the hooded coat seemed familiar, an air to him that sat him apart from the rest of the Organization, but he didn't expect the guy would just... _let them go._

"I owe you both."

"For what?" Namine raised her sketchbook, her head cocked to the side slightly.

"Castle Oblivion. You helped us."

"Heh. You don't have to tell me twice." Axel summoned a portal, his arm outstretched as it overlapped with the various black, blue and purple hues. Namine glanced between the two, unsure of what to do; Axel nodded, an indication that it was okay to leave. She looked down at the drawing of Sora and Roxas, her face a mixture of emotions.

"Thank you." She mumbled gratefully as she stood up, not looking back as she ran off and through the portal. The figure watched as she went, then turned to Axel. Neither of them spoke, a silence hanging between the two, before the redhead followed Namine without a word.

* * *

Axel traversed the alleys of The World That Never Was, his gaze hard, mouth pulled into a tight grimace. He'd spent the last few weeks relentlessly searching for any way to get Roxas back. Anything he could use as leverage.

A smile inched it's way onto his face when he found just that. The perfect thing. Opening a portal, he stepped through it, his mind picturing the sunny beach of Sora's home. Perfect.

What he didn't expect was a damn dog to follow him through right as it closed.

As he willed his portal to traverse him to the sandy beach, the first thing he noticed was his _leverage_ was standing on the shore, looking into the empty sky, the water lapping against her purple shoes. She cocked her head to the side, her auburn hair brushing against her face in the gentle breeze.

"Maybe... waiting isn't good enough." She spoke to nothing, clearly not expecting anybody to be listening, as she blinked in confusion and looked around frantically when the redhead answered.

"My thoughts exactly. If you have a dream, don't wait. Act." Hmph. Maybe he should've taken his own advice while he could.

She turned to the direction of the voice as Axel let the portal show and close behind him, Kairi putting her hands to her chest in caution of the stranger.

"One of life's little rules. Got it memorized?" The black wisps of the gateway evaporated behind him. His coat billowed in the wind as the waves washed against his boots.

"Who are you?"

"Axel. I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora's." He layered on the charm, pulling the strings he knew would get her interested. Still, she stood in a defensive stance, frowning when Axel offered his hand. "Why don't we go see him?"

"...Sora?"

She looked to the sea, contemplating whether or not to join him. An excitement twinkled in her eyes; she almost looked like she was going to agree before a dog barking could be heard. Axel watched as the same dog- the King's, he thought, Pluto- ran up to her, still incessantly barking. She bent down to get closer to Pluto as he ran around in circles, his tail swishing from side to side. It's ears perked up and Kairi glanced up, fear in her eyes as Dusks began to surround them, swishing from side to side as they awaited orders.

A portal appeared behind the group of dusks, on the opposite side to where Axel was standing; Pluto bounded over to it, barking for her to join him, his tail wagging frantically. She stood, her hair blowing in the wind, most probably contemplating what to do.

"We've got something in common, Kairi." Axel waved his arm around before clenching it into a fist. "You and I both miss someone we care about."

"Hey, I feel like we're friends already." His voice couldn't have sounded more cynical if he tried. She responded with a feminine grunt of disagreement; she turned around, walking backwards towards the portal as Pluto jumped through.

"You're not acting very friendly!" She gave no room for Axel to reply as she ran off, the portal closing behind her. The Dusks stood motionless, staring at Axel, waiting for a command that would never come.

"Silly, silly girl. Don't you know I'll stop at nothing, just like you, to get what I want?"

* * *

"What took you so long, Kairi?"

He mentally hit himself for taking so long to find the girl, but he was lucky he did. Coming out of the portal, he saw the petite redhead sitting on a couch, surrounded by the same three people that were Roxas' best friends- in the virtual Twilight Town.

"Somehow I just knew you'd be here." He motioned his hand outwards; the four teens looked at him in a mixture of surprise and shock. Pluto stood in the middle, defensive, butt in the air.

"I tell ya, Kairi, you've got a lot of guts, jumping right into the darkness like that." Hayner stood up and attempted to charge at Axel, trying to _protect_ Kairi, but it was a weak assault and he barely had to move his arm for the teen to miss and crash to the floor. Pence attempted to do the same, but stumbled and tripped. Compared to the foes he'd faced, those two were like sitting Dusks.

He slowly walked over to Kairi, pushing the doubt to the back of his mind at her fearful expression. Axel grabbed her arm, forcing her towards the portal; she tried to struggle, forcing her feet into the ground and tugging against his arm, but to no avail. It was pure stupidity to try to resist him; she was weak, having lived on an island her whole life, been left behind by her best friends.

"Let go of me." Her pleading was pointless. He had what he came for. "Let go!" They disappeared into the portal, the stupid dog following them behind yet again as it dissipated.

* * *

"Way to fall right into their trap." Axel smirked. He lent against the rock behind him, his arms crossed. The three turned to him; Sora rushed over, swinging his Keyblade, glaring at Axel.

"C'mon, it's a set-up by Organization XIII." Surely he wasn't _that_ dense. All he'd come to do was check up on Roxas- not giving them advice. Yet he couldn't help himself. "Xemnas is using you to destory the Heartless- that's his big master plan."

"Xemnas?" The horribly nasally-sounding duck croaked out, a glare on his face as he held a magical staff that was almost his height.

"The guy you just saw." Axel pointed to where Xemnas originally was, a smirk playing on his features. "He's their leader." _Not his anymore._ "Got it memorized? X-E-M, N-A-S."

Sora looked at him in mild surprise. His other companion, the stupid dog, spoke up. "Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?"

"Man, you're slow." Axel chuckled, pointing to the Keyblade in Sora's hand. "Every Heartless slain with that Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after."

"So what are those guys gonna do with those hearts?" Damn, almost every word that came out of the duck's mouth irritated him more and more. He had no idea how Roxas wasn't going insane inside Sora, having to hear that.

"I'm not telling." Axel scoffed.

"Tell us!"

"You... you're the one who kidnapped Kairi!" Sora slumped desperately, finally realizing the fact. He would have thought Sora would be smarter, as Roxas was half of him. Clearly not.

"Bingo. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" He pointed to his head, his green eyes glowing with amusement.

"Where is Kairi?" Sora far from begged. Axel looked down, scratching his head. "Please. Just tell me!"

"Look, about Kairi..." He put his head backwards, closing his eyes as he looked at the sky. Sighing, he bought it back down, his expression showing clear irritation. "I'm sorry."

"Axel!"

The redhead flinched at the sound of his name, which came from neither Sora nor his animal friends. A portal appeared, his former best friend- _Saix-_ stepped through.

"Uh-oh." Axel bared his teeth, a portal forming behind him. Unwilling to get caught, not just yet, he stepped through it, though lingering long enough to hear the next few words that came out of Saix's mouth.

" _We'll ensure he receives the maximum punishment."_

* * *

_What was he fighting for anymore?_

That question nagged at him as he opened a portal and saw Sora fighting against a bunch of Dusks in a void. He'd lost Kairi, but even if he hadn't...

Would he really be able to get Roxas back? Or was he chasing a pointless dream? Roxas was long gone, a part of his Somebody again. No longer a Nobody. The person he was chasing, didn't really exist anymore. Roxas was there, inside Sora. But that's where he'd stay.

"It's no use!" Sora groaned, looking around at the circle of Dusks surrounding him. Axel stepped through, joining Sora as he struggled against the onslaught of enemies.

"Don't stop moving, or the darkness will overtake you!" He jumped in the air, spinning his chakrams around as they collided with a few Dusks, causing them to be flung into the air and evaporate. He span his chakram from his grasp, causing a few of them to dissipate, before he turned to Sora.

"Get goin'!"

"Why?"

"Don't ask. Just do it!" Axel didn't notice the Dusk creep up to him as he spoke to the Keyblade wielder; it pounced, sending him to the floor. Sora wasted no time in rushing to his aid, eradicating the few that had surrounded his body.

"You okay?" _What, now he was concerned?_

"I kidnapped Kairi, but she got away from me. After that, Saix caught her." Axel closed his eyes in regret. He'd royally created a mess trying to get Roxas back. "He's a member of Organization XIII. Saix. Got it memorized?" He looked down, not bothering to check if the Dusks were coming closer. "Now go save her!"

A Dusk came into being above Sora; it lunged for him and he shot it away, sending it back to darkness. He didn't seem to have any plans to leave Axel, and in that moment, with the stubborn look on his face, he saw Roxas shine through. They really were two halves of a whole.

"Leave us alone!" Sora warned as Axel got to his feet, willing his chakrams into existence. They split apart, relentlessly sending their weapons flying into the empty vessels attacking them. The Dusks kept regenerating, adding and multiplying into swarms. It wasn't long until they fell into a position, back to back, and realized their assault wasn't working, that there was too many.

"I think I liked it better when they were on my side." Axel commented, spinning his weapons around. Sora turned his back slightly to face the redhead; he smirked.

"Feeling a little... regret?"

Axel moved to give Sora a grin. "Nah... I can handle these punks. Watch this!"

He leaped into the air rather gracefully; when he landed, he let his weapons drop to his side and they began spinning in midair, tendrils of darkness and patches of fire floating around his whole body. The chakrams began to spin, twisting faster and faster around his being as the intensity of the fire increased. He groaned, curling up into a ball, before letting out a wail as he released the attack. The whole area filled with fire and light; when it cleared, the brunette looked down to see Axel lying on the floor, unmoving.

The Dusks were gone. Axel chuckled. At least he'd solved that problem. He could hear Sora marvel at that fact. Hell, he didn't even realize he had that power.

"You're... fading away..."

He had his eyes closed, preferably from the pain, so he couldn't see what Sora was seeing, yet he guessed it had something to do with black. And his body fading.

"Well," Axel opened his eyes, looking at Sora. "that's what happens when you put your whole being into an attack. You know what I mean?" He scoffed. "Not that Nobodies actually HAVE beings... right?"

"Anyway, I digress. Go, find Kairi. Oh, almost forgot... Sorry for what I did to her."

"When we find her, you can tell her that yourself." Sora seemed more than certain that he actually could. Axel was more of a pessimistic. He knew that the attack would kill him. He didn't expect to last much longer. He frowned, turning onto his back fully, staring up at the void.

"Think I'll pass. My heart just wouldn't be in it, you know? Haven't got one." _Someone else fully took what little I had._ He chuckled.

"Axel, what were you trying to do?"

"I wanted to see Roxas. He... was the only one I liked... He made me feel... like I had a heart." As much as a Nobody could. "It's kind of... funny..." Axel turned to Sora, the light in his eyes slowly dimming. "You make me feel... the same..."

His expression hardened. "Kairi's in the castle dungeon. Now go." With the last of his strength, he held out his hand, creating a portal to Kairi.

_"Axel..."_

He burst into black flames.

* * *

"Look who's finally awake."

Axel didn't turn his head towards the blonde, yet he sensed his gaze at his words. He stared out at the sunset, savoring the calamity. He wanted to question how it was possible, yet he already knew. Roxas was fading fully into Sora, willingly. Axel was willingly fading from existence. This was... goodbye.

"Axel..."

"Or... maybe I have it wrong. Might be time to sleep. Soon, we won't be able to talk like this anymore."

"Does that mean... it's time for me to go back to where I belong?" Roxas held no hint of anger or resentment in his voice. Merging with Sora must have taken some of his stubbornness and pure anger away. Axel wasn't sure if he liked that or not.

"You know, I've been thinking about something Namine said." Axel contemplated, sitting down next to the blonde. "Roxas, are you really sure that you don't have a heart?"

It was something he asked himself a lot. If he wasn't supposed to have feelings, how did he feel to strongly towards Roxas? If he didn't have a heart, how could he love?

"Is it possible that we ALL have one? You, me, her... Or is that just wishful thinking?"

"I dunno. I can't... just look inside."

"Yeah, I guess not." Or did he just think he loved Roxas? How did he know if it was genuine or not?

"But I figure, if there is something in there- inside of us- then we'd feel it, wouldn't we?" Roxas paused, choosing his words carefully. "And if so... No, never mind."

"C'mon, don't leave me hanging." Every inch of him hoped that Roxas felt the same way for him. Maybe that was just wishful thinking too.

"...Sora will find the answer we're looking for. I know he will. Because he's me."

"True enough."

It felt peaceful, calm. The first time in a long while they'd talked without any anger, resentment or lies. They were completely open and free. He didn't need Roxas' love. Axel would be more than happy to spend his last few moments like this. He handed the blonde a sea-salt ice cream; the look on his face clearly showed he wasn't expecting the beverage to be there. Their last sea-salt ice cream- together, anyway.

"Thanks."

"Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here and watched the sun set."

"Yeah. This place is home. Me, Hayner, Pence, Olette... We've shared a lot of adventures." Roxas nibbled his ice cream, looking dejected.

"You'll see them again. I know you will." Axel offered Roxas a smile. Even if it wasn't as himself, he knew he would.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, I should go, Sora's waiting for me."

Axel looked away from Roxas and cast his gaze downwards. "Yeah, I suppose he is." He stared at the other side of the clock tower, taking a bite from his ice cream. He was going to miss this. "Man, this is some good ice cream, huh?"

They sat in silence for some time, both of the clinging onto the last moments they had together.

Roxas broke that, as always. White light began to appear from his body; spots and swirls traversed over his skin, his own becoming transparent.

"Take care, okay?"

White light appeared over Axel too; he didn't fight it as it traveled over his skin, causing his body to be enveloped in a inviting warmth, light spilling from his every pore. No black flames. No pain. Just light.

"Right back at ya," Axel stared into those brilliant blue eyes for the last time; took in that beautiful porcelain skin, the plump lips he'd always ached to kiss. The sandy blonde hair that he'd wondered how it would feel grasped between his fingers. He took in, for the last time, the boy he loved. Without a doubt. Every single inch of him. A single tear spilled from his face as he faded away.

"Buddy."

* * *

He sat on nothing. He was in nothing; he wasn't sure if it was death, but he couldn't think of anything worse. Purgatory, maybe. Hey, at least he wasn't being tortured.

There was no concept of time. Two hours could have passed as two seconds, and five minutes could have passed as a year. He didn't know. He couldn't estimate how long he'd been in there because he truly _didn't know_. He just knew it was a long time. Alone. Contemplating everything he'd done, good or bad. Was any of it worth it, when it just left him sitting there alone with only memories to cling onto?

"Axel."

He looked up, right into the face of DiZ. Or, rather, Ansem the Wise. Not the bad guy everyone thought he was. Even fooled Axel.

"What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're dead too." He smirked, though it dropped as soon as he saw the man's non moving expression. "Oh."

"There's too much pain. Too much suffering. You've had your fare share of that, haven't you, boy?"

Axel scoffed, waving his arm in dismissal. "You could say that."

"What... What if I told you you could be given another chance?"

Axel whisked around, his hands grasping at nothing as he stumbled. "What _are_ you talking about? That's not possible."

Ansem smiled, a unusual feat that chilled him. "We could all be reborn. Into a new world. Without Keyblade wielders, without heartless or nobodies. You could _exist_. What do you say to that?"

The void shone as a single white feather dropped into Axel's lap.


	3. III

The red-headed male raised a glowing cigarette to his chapped lips, pale fingers lightly gripping the white stick as he heavily breathed in the toxic fumes, relishing in the relieving nicotine coursing it's way through his pumping veins. His shaky breath blew out the cloud of pale grey smoke, his bright eyes watching it dissipate into the early morning air. Being winter, it was eerily dark and chilly as he lent against the brick wall behind him, the moonlight slightly illuminating the large mass of spunky red spikes that adorned his head. He lifted his head up, staring into the dark sky above, but instead of seeing stars, they were covered by clouds, the moon only poking out because of its luminescence. Every breath that escaped his lips billowed out like a fog, clouds of heat instantly vaporized as it came into contact with the clean, chilly night air.

"T-They could expel you, y'know.."

The man didn't make a sound or move in any way, though pearly white teeth appeared behind dusted-pink stern lips, a coy smirk becoming apparent. Another cloud of hot breath escaped his lips as he exhaled, instantly bringing the cigarette back up to his lips to take another drag.

"Aaaand you don't care, do you?"

A blond-haired, lean figure peered over the small wall behind the redhead before not-so-swiftly jumping down to the small space, which was conveniently the only place that was completely hidden, shivering slightly. The over-sized coat that was wrapped around him wasn't keeping the chill from his body, obviously. His mullet bounced as he moved, the few stray stands in front of his face hovering over his eyes before he pushed them away. His eyes darted around him, looking clearly scared of something around him- the bigger figure just put his hand on the blond's shoulder and he visibly relaxed, though he still seemed wary.

"Do you _ever_ sleep?" He glared daggers at the redhead, rubbing his arms for warmth. It wasn't doing much through his coat, but nevertheless he did it anyway.

"Oh Demyx. You should know me by now." He teased, winking at the blonde. Demyx cursed under his breath, watching the taller male inhale another puff of smoke.

"At least share, Ax." The blond pleaded, teeth beginning to chatter.

"Thought you were quitting, hm?" Axel turned his head towards the blonde and smirked, watching his best friend look at the cigarette with longing, not looking at his friend for even a second as he spoke. They'd banned them due to increasing popularity not too long ago and although the redhead had his ways, Demyx was starting to suffer the withdraws of nicotine. Axel often wondered why he attempted to quit; cigarettes helped him stay calm, but he had his reasoning, and the redhead wasn't going to pry. Maybe it reminded him of home.

"Pleasssse, Axel? I'll clean your side of the room for a week. No, a month!" The shorter male dropped to his knees and, very dramatically, clasped his hands together.

Axel reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette identical to the one that was burning in-between his fingers and tossed it to the blonde, who had a look of relief spread across his pale face. "Knock yourself out, wuss."

He brought the cigarette up to his lips again and took a long drag, closing his eyes before exhaling; if they caught him out tonight, the chances of him being able to sneak out again would be slim to none. But he needed the space, the calm. Memories haunted his head of all those years ago, memories he'd desperately tried to forget. Every year the day would creep up on him, lurking, bringing back all those thoughts, feelings, things he wished he could bury. The time always came. The _flashbacks_ always came.

Always.

"Axel?"

The redhead snapped out of his gaze and opened his eyes, looking towards the blonde in mild surprise, realizing his now-finished cigarette had fallen to the ground. Demyx seemingly hadn't noticed that, however, as he had almost finished his own cigarette, obviously smoking it fast instead of savoring it. Typical Demyx. He was leaning against the metal railing opposite by where they were standing, looking out at the expansive sea. The boarding school that they attended was close by to a cliff, which was surrounded by a vast, calming view of the choppy waves. They were pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

"Try not to think about that time, alright? You're _not_ there. You're here."

"...I know."

Axel sighed, looking at the faint reflection of the moon on the water as the water rippled, gunshots echoing through his mind.

* * *

Opening his eyes, temporarily blinded by the light streaming through the curtains, he groaned as his eyes refused to cooperate. He wanted to sleep, but classes were starting again, lessons he didn't need to learn, things he already knew. Summer break was over, bringing new students; sometimes vaguely familiar faces caught his eye but they soon left. Nobody stayed at a boarding school for long, especially not one like where he was stuck at. It felt like a prison most of the time. Not that he had anywhere to go; no family, barely any friends. The only person he had was Demyx, who was in the same situation as him, instead his family just didn't want him anymore. Axel wished he'd had that luxury.

When he managed to open his eyes and blink the sleep away, he noticed Demyx was gone from the bed opposite; probably to go scope out the new students. He always was an early riser, while Axel would be quite happy to just sleep all day and night.

Pulling back the sheets, he rubbed his eyes, yawning loudly. The room was a mess; well, more like his side of the room. The room he and Demyx shared was in the main dorm at the school, a room that looked exactly the same as the others, bar a few personal differences. A sitar belonging to his roommate sat propped up against the wall, blending into the blue walls on his side of the room. The blue merged into the red of Axel's side; he'd painted his like flames, wisps of yellow, orange and red swirling compellingly. He'd always been attracted to the calming flames of the fire.

His feet found the cool hardwood floor, standing up as he pulled his t-shirt off, leaving him in only his boxers as he strolled into the bathroom, not bothering to check the time on the clock on the bedside table. He needed a shower; the slight clamminess of sleeping was sticking to his skin and he felt drowsy, the aftereffects of a deep sleep that he didn't want to leave. Whoever invented classes in the morning was not in his good books.

He stripped completely and stood under the shower head, turning the tap fully so scalding water came shooting from the tap, steam beginning to bellow on the shower walls. He rested his hand on the tile opposite and let the water run over his skin, savoring the heat and tranquility. Sure, he loved fire, but you couldn't beat a good shower. The water ran over his dulled down spikes, it being the only thing that could do anything close, and dripped down his nose, dropping onto the shower floor. He let the water drain the sleep away, let the water refresh him for a same old boring day of same old boring lessons.

When he was finished, he reluctantly turned the tap off and sighed as the water stopped, leaving his skin bare to the chill of the air. He dried himself off, pulling on a pair of clean boxers and running the towel through damp hair, which was already starting to spike up again. He hung the towel around his shoulders, grabbing a discarded rubber band by the mirror and with a snap of the rubber band, he pulled his hair into a lose ponytail at the nape of his neck, noticing in the mirror that some spikes still protruded, odd parts of red sticking out at all angles; he shrugged, knowing that his hair couldn't be tamed if he tried. His eyes caught view of the small, purple teardrop tattoos underneath his now-awake green eyes; a reminder of a past life he'd never forget, even if he wanted to. Sometimes he wished he didn't remember. Axel didn't know why he did; remember, that was, as nobody else seemed to, and he'd hinted more than enough. Sure, they acted almost the same way as they did in their past life, which was eerily chilling in it's own right, but they had no clue. Not like he did. His memory was crystal clear.

He wasn't exactly the same, no. He'd had different experiences; he didn't come to remember until his teenage years, the memories coming back in snippets, dreams of beings unimaginable, portals of darkness and weapons so strange they couldn't merely been imagined. He'd been through hardships unlike his past life, had friends unlike. Known different people. Different crowds. But he still held that piece of him; he was still Axel, the nobody. He was still Lea. Still held all the wants and desires, still held all those memories. Still pined for a certain blonde.

Axel shook that thought away, grabbing his toothbrush. He'd given up looking for Roxas a long time ago. This world was too large, billions of people and he was only one of many. He may have been the most important thing in his past life, yet he couldn't be in this life too. He'd spent years searching for any trace of Roxas, and ultimately gave up, seeing the escapade worthless. He'd have those memories, and that was it.

Sometimes he felt compelled to tell Demyx; he just wanted to be able to get it off his chest, be able to talk to the closest person in his life about his experiences. But he couldn't. Demyx had no clue- he didn't know he was compelled to play the sitar was because that was his weapon as a nobody. He didn't know his attraction to water was because his Nobody form could control it, just like Axel's was with fire. He didn't know that while he was excitable and outgoing in this life around the only person he trusted, he used to be the laziest and most unwilling to do anything out of all of the Organization. He couldn't tell him though. For some bizarre reason, he could remember those words as clear as day, right after Ansem had told him he could start a new life. That they all could.

" _If you do remember, Axel; do not force your knowledge onto others that were a part of your old life. The very feat could destroy their existence. If they don't remember, maybe they're just destined to never know."_

The only other person from the Organization he'd come across so far was Saix, or rather, his former childhood best friend Isa; the bluenette had no clue, either. If he did, he was sure they wouldn't be in... the _situation_ they were. Last time he saw Saix, he wanted to get rid of him, their friendship anything but. Now, it was quite the opposite.

He'd tried to forget everything. It wasn't _his_ life anymore; it was gone, over. Even though he tried so hard, he couldn't shake those memories. When Demyx or Saix would say something so similar to what they had done before, he couldn't help but be taken back to way back when. And that was pretty often.

He hadn't realized he'd been standing in the same spot for so long, toothbrush in hand, until he looked down and saw a blob of toothpaste had fallen off the brush and into the sink. Mentally shaking himself free of the daze, he resumed his routine, washing the bland taste of sleep from his mouth and replacing it with a fresh, minty sheen. He left his hair in the low ponytail, simply because he couldn't be bothered doing anything else with it, the red locks now completely dry.

Stepping from the bathroom, he grabbed a pair of discarded jeans from the floor and slipped them on, lazily fumbling at the belt as he walked over to the 'shared' closet and grabbed a faded black, long sleeved shirt- one with a few tears in the arm, all thanks to _Saix-_ and put it on, walking over to the bedside table where his things laid. He shoved his phone into his pockets and grabbed the class schedule Demyx had so nicely left for him and studied it.

 _Boring, boring boring._ The same classes he had every year. The only few changes were a couple of added classes to balance some bullshit he never listened to; those classes were _cooking, workshop_ and, surprisingly, _boxing._ Although he loved the idea of being able to get his fighting skills back to work- not that he never had before, but his days of picking fights with gangs were over- making food didn't really appeal to him. Sure, workshop was alright, but it was just classes he'd get bored of and probably end up skipping.

His first class was Math. Axel glanced at the clock, gauging about how much time he'd have to grab a coffee before class.

_He was two hours late._

"Ah well." He shoved the schedule in his pocket, checking his phone to see a couple missed calls from Demyx and half a dozen texts flashing on the illuminated screen. "Since I'd already be late for two..." His second class was English, which wasn't one he was itching to go to. His third was cooking, then lunch. Did he really need to learn how to make food he'd probably never bother to make again?

He'd barely walked out of the door and closed it before a hand appeared out of nowhere and shoved him around and up against the wall, his back connecting with the brick before he could even catch his breath. He blinked and came face to face with a smirking guy. Namely, _Saix_. He didn't have time to compose himself before rough lips were crashed against his, the bluenette cutting to the chase and snaking his tongue into Axel's mouth, fighting for dominance.

_Guess not._

He began kissing him back, wasting no time in grabbing his shoulders and pushing him up against the wall opposite, angling himself so he stood taller, gaining better control and dominance like always. Saix traversed his hands around Axel's arms, shoulder and back before settling in his hair, pulling on the spikes tightly as he deepened the kiss. The redhead broke it in retaliation, grinning at the other teen's whimper of the loss of contact. He made his way to Saix's throat, sucking on the soft skin and instantly arousing a groan, causing his arms to drop to his sides. Axel smirked.

"Miss me?" He mumbled breathily against his neck, the heat causing Saix to shiver. The bluenette responded by pulling Axel's chin downwards to continue he kiss, moving his arms up around his neck and hoisting himself up on the redhead's waist; still deep in their making-out, Axel walked backwards, kicking the door to his room open.

Saix broke the kiss, a line of spit forming as they broke apart. "Always."

* * *

Axel exited his room an hour later, _without_ Saix, and began walking towards the school halls, subsequently gaining a whack on the head by a very annoyed Demyx as soon as he entered the main schooling area.

"That," Axel slowly shuffled over to the canteen, situated in the middle, rubbing his head tenderly. "was uncalled for."

"Oh yeah? Where were you for the last three lessons, hm? You left me alone, Axeeel." Demyx whined, pouting and showing his puppy-dog eyes. His signature move.

"Quit your whining, dumbass. I slept in, then... got _distracted_." Axel winked. Demyx stuttered, his mouth agape. He rested his face on the palms of his hands, sighing heavily as they walked into the crowded canteen, the blonde's voice dropping to a murmur.

"You and Saix are like a couple of horn dogs, you know that?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Scope out any new students?"

"...A few. You know how I am, Ax. But whatever - I saw them all head off to the canteen- they're at the back table, over there. New kids flock together I guess..." Demyx motioned his hand and the redhead glanced to the table at the far back. Seeing no drawbacks he took some food and strutted off to the table, a silent Demyx in tow. He plopped his tray down, loudly, without an invitation and sat down, grinning widely.

"The name's Axel. Fresh meat, I assume?"

Axel scanned at the people currently sitting around the table, all showing different stages of confusion. The familiarity of them all was off-putting; his breath caught in his throat and he coughed roughly, the teen next to him giving him a weird look but passing it off. Unsurprisingly, none of them seemed to hold a hint of recognition. The blonde spoke up first, after a sight amount of hesitation.

"... I'm Larxene."

She looked the same as always, blonde hair slicked back with small antennae-like pieces jutting out at the front. Her vixen-like eyes seemed to pierce into anything she looked at. She was wearing ripped jeans with a matching ripped shirt, a biker's jacket thrown on top. She winked at Axel; _yes, same as always._ Larxene had a lollipop danging from her mouth and, quite deliberately, she sucked on it rather erotically. Oh, it was such a shame he was gay. Not.

"And then there's Namine next to me. She's shy, but sweet."

Namine's clothing seemed almost identical to the plain white dress she used to always wear- it unnerved him, and she must have noticed his rattled expression- still, she smiled at him warmly, her blue eyes sparkling. A pair of thin, white glasses perched at the end of her nose; she pushed them up slightly, her blonde hair moving around her shoulders as she did so.

"Opposite you is Sora; next to him is Riku."

Sora shot Axel a bemused smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He then proceeded to stuff a rather large burger in his mouth, Riku sighing at him in annoyance as he did so. The latter took no notice of the redhead, though.

"And Mister Emo over there is Zexion!"

The slate-colour haired man looked up from his book, raising his eyebrow at the blonde's choice of words, and regarded Axel with a nod, then returning to his book.

"This is Demyx." Axel motioned to the timid blonde who was now sitting on the bench next to him, almost hidden from everyone else. He didn't add to Axel's statement.

Larxene pulled the lollipop out of her mouth with a pop and regarded Axel curiously. "So, _Axel,_ have we met before? You seem oddly familiar."

Axel shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. "Probably not." He didn't want to risk anything and mentioning something regarding their past lives _may_ get him some odd looks. Just because she found him familiar didn't _mean_ anything; it wasn't the first time somebody had told him those words and it turned out to be nothing. His brother was pretty famous before he died, and they looked oddly similar. He liked to keep his heritage a secret, however. People asked questions, treated him differently- not the sort of thing he was interested in.

Demyx nudged him, showing him the illuminated screen of his phone- and the time. Five minutes until class, which was geography or some shit like that. Not that he was interested.

"We're gonna roll. Class in a few." Axel waved to the group, a pang running through his heart. Old acquaintances really did stick together. "I'll see you around?"

"Sure will!" Sora grinned, his burger demolished. Riku was looking at him with a slightly disgusted expression.

"Bye, Red." Larxene grinned, winking. He tried to fight off a shudder at her clear display of flirting, Demyx ending up doing him a favor by pulling him away roughly. When they reached one of the various school hallways, completely desolate, the blonde let out a sigh of relief.

"Did I ever tell you how much new kids annoy me?" He looked down at the abandoned hallway. "That Larxene had her paws all over you. It was revolting, to say the least."

"Oh Demyx." He laughed, putting his arm around his friend and began to walk. "If only you were this boisterous around other people."

"Oh ha ha. You know completely well why I'm not." Demyx replied with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, we've got double history together. I'm sure you don't want to be late for Ms. Dalmasca's class.."

"Ashe is chill, you know that much." They rounded the corner onto another, more crowded hallway. "Plus, it's the first day. Look at all these newbies. I'm sure she'll get a hell of a lot of excuses for being late."

Demyx just mumbled, breaking away from Axel's hold to walk into the classroom. There was only a couple kids inside, ones he knew as regulars. The great thing about boarding school? They tended to mix the years up, not giving a damn about what their students have learnt already. Meaning there was a large chance he'd have some young preps in his classes. Great.

They took their usual seats at the back of the class, Axel resting his head on the desk and closing his eyes. Maybe he could sleep the double period away. Three hours of history...

He was jolted awake by a tap on his shoulder and a harsh whisper. "Have you got a pen?"

Sleepily he took his head off the table, rubbing a sore spot on his forehead. He'd obviously fallen asleep, which was only further confirmed at the sensation of drool on his mouth. He hastily wiped it off, turning to respond to the person who had rudely awoken him, ready to tell him to fuck off or something along those lines.

Only to freeze halfway in the action, his mouth half-open. The source frowned, clearly not understanding his reaction. Still, he sat frozen, unable to react.

Because the person sitting across from him, all tousled blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes, was undoubtedly Roxas.


End file.
